implement

¹im·ple·ment

noun \ˈim-plə-mənt\

Definition of IMPLEMENT

1

: an article serving to equip <the implements of religious worship>

2

: a device used in the performance of a task : tool, utensil

3

: one that serves as an instrument or tool <the partnership agreement does not seem to be a very potent implement — H. B. Hoffman>

Examples of IMPLEMENT

1. stone implements used in prehistoric times
2. a sharp-edged implement used to chop wood
3. They eat with us, do the beach with us; the girls, K.C. and Jessica, buy kitchen implements for us, come over to casually straighten up, make beds, clear the dishes from the sink and the bedrooms … —Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, 2000
4. In the toolhouse … there were also antique implements worn like prehistoric artifacts: an ancient oblong pink whetstone pointed at either end and soapily warped by all its use, and an old-fashioned square hoe worn into a lopsided metal oval … —John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994
5. There was a little implement called a lemon zester that she had bought from a door-to-door salesman. —Ann Beattie, New Yorker, 28 Dec. 1987

Origin of IMPLEMENT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin implementum action of filling up, from Latin implēre to fill up, from in- + plēre to fill — more at full

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to IMPLEMENT

Synonyms: device, instrument, tool, utensil

Related Words: apparatus, appliance, mechanism; contraption, contrivance, gadget, gizmo (also gismo), jigger; accessory (also accessary), accoutrement (or accouterment), adjunct, appendage, attachment

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Synonym Discussion of IMPLEMENT

implement, tool, instrument, appliance, utensil mean a relatively simple device for performing work. implement may apply to anything necessary to perform a task <crude stone implements> <farm implements>. tool suggests an implement adapted to facilitate a definite kind or stage of work and suggests the need of skill more strongly than implement <a carpenter's tools>. instrument suggests a device capable of delicate or precise work <the dentist's instruments>. appliance refers to a tool or instrument utilizing a power source and suggests portability or temporary attachment <household appliances>. utensil applies to a device used in domestic work or some routine unskilled activity <kitchen utensils>.